holy crap, that service advisor was so good, i want to marry him! *giggles*
the service shop is HUUUUUUGE and very hi-tech... you pull up to the door, the door opens, you drive in, they drive it through....
anyway, i got in, got directed to some guy. i told him service advisor (brad) said i could watch them work on the car. guy said, "that's the first i'm hearing of that--let brad deal with it". so i got handed off to brad.
he did my paperwork, talked about recommended services, encouraged me to ask questions, etc. once the tech took my car, brad walked me to the "watching area" which comfortably fits 1 person 2 if you're really really skinny essentially, it's a little nook off a doorway in the middle of the shop. i must've been 20 feet away from my car.
the car's trunk was to me, but there was a mirror on the ceiling, so i could see the tech tinkering with the front. then brad walked up and said to come get him if i want to talk to the tech, which i did once he started draining the oil. we walked over to the car, he showed me the crush washers (new compared to old). then he asked the tech if he'd mind if i hung out right there in the bay. the tech didn't care, so i got to stand a foot away while he finished putting in the filter and filling her up.
he walked me out, brad showed me how to reset the MM, gave me a tour of their waiting area (if i wanted to wait instead of watch next time), where they have internet access, TV, popcorn, freshly baked cookies (are you kidding me?), stuff like that.
the only odd thing was ALL the techs being completely at a loss when it came to the remote starter. i mean, i said, "press once and hold till the light blinks. let go, press again till the light blinks. wait a few secs, the car will start. then press the button to unlock the door, and you're good to go".
the just couldn't figure it out.... they kept pressing all sorts of button out of order, which causes remote starter and alarm to get blocked..... it can only be reset at that point by manually starting the car, so the tech called me over while the car was still on the lift (on the groung, but the with forks under it) and had me get in the car and start it for him
(oh yeah, i have an active bypass, so turning the key in the ignition doesn't start the car which is why they need to remote start it ).
the tech was 19 y.o. and very bubbly (but in a good way).
i had FUN but seriously, the service manager was FANTASTIC!
i can't speak for the quality of their service wrt big repairs, but if you want to watch your car being worked on from 20 feet away, talk to Brad Chase ahead of time and book your appt on the day that he's there. Yippie!
P.S: while i was standing in the nook, -every- technician walking by tried to shoo me out and tell me i absolutely could NOT be there, and every time i'd tell him to check with brad, who'd then say it's ok. that was soooooo random. then, on of the techs, said that some "observer" fell in their shop a while back, and he/she is trying to bring forth legal action.....
